VIDA VALIENTE

Vida Valiente is a collaboration by philanthropists Hayes and Susana Drumwright and renowned winemaker, Sam Kaplan and his wife Nancy. For them, along with their families, Vida Valiente represents the lasting legacy behind its name, which translates to “Valiant Life.”
Vida Valiente is first and foremost a philanthropic winery dedicated to providing financial assistance and holistic support to first generation, low-income students at four-year universities via the Vida Valiente Foundation. The Foundation’s mission is twofold: to alleviate financial pressures and to give students a sense of belonging through mentorship and professional development opportunities, accompanying students throughout their entire four-year academic journey. Wine sales largely support the scholarship fund; $100 of each bottle of The Movement's proceeds go directly to the Foundation’s scholarships. The foundation’s inaugural class of 33 students began their Stanford journey in the fall of 2022, and the group of scholars has now grown to 73, with 30-40 new students added to the program each year.

WWW.VIDAVALIENTEWINERY.COM

Sam Kaplan

Winemaker

For Sam Kaplan, all roads have always led to Napa Valley, going as far back as his childhood in Oklahoma. His father would order grapes via train from Napa Valley to blend with those he grew in their home vineyard, which Sam grew up stomping and later sampling as finished wines over family dinners.
Sam went to Lewis and Clark College in Portland hoping to follow in his physician father’s footsteps as a doctor. Instead, he followed his father’s other path, opting to instead pursue a formal career in wine while studying abroad in Spain. After living with another wine-loving family there, Sam grew captivated by the universal culture around wine and its powerful ability to bring diverse groups of people together. A pivotal point in Sam’s life came while visiting a winery in the Willamette Valley. Walking into the cellar that day, the smell of fermentation overwhelmed him, sending chills down his spine. The intensity of aromas brought him back to his childhood, made him feel instantly at home, and cemented his calling.After graduating with a Religious Studies degree, Sam was offered a role at Gary Andrus’ Napa Valley property, Pine Ridge. His instinct was to get a formal wine education, but Gary – now his mentor – convinced him to learn on the job, by farming and working harvests. Sam then went to ZD Wines, where he earned his winemaker chops working his way from the bottom up. He met his wife Nancy there, who worked on her off days to expand her palate as a Michelin star chef.
After seven years, the opportunity of a lifetime came knocking in the form of a winemaker role at what would become Arkenstone Estate. He helped design the Howell Mountain project from soup to nut with owners Ron and Susan Krausz. He remains Winemaker and General Manager for the Estate.
After over two decades in Napa, a #1 bid at PNV, and a 100-point score later, Sam has a proven record putting wineries on the international connoisseurs’ map. When opportunity came knocking to join Hayes and his wife Susana in starting Vida Valiente, Sam and Nancy were up for the challenge. Sam considers himself an “agriculture-first” winemaker and Vida Valiente’s sources are some of the most coveted in Napa Valley. He was especially attracted to the Vida Valiente Foundation and its mission of giving back. As the beneficiary of several great mentors, Sam believes in the power of role models in shaping the lives of talented young people. He and Nancy plan to be actively involved, not only in the Vida Valiente Estate, but in the Foundation and its groundbreaking mentorship program.
In addition to his work at Arkenstone, Memento Mori or Vida Valiente, Sam also collaborates with David Abreu on their Pritchard Hill project, Nine Suns as well as with Nancy on a Sonoma Coast wine label they started in 2015 called MAXEM, in tribute to their kids, Max and Emma. When he isn’t making iconic wine, he’s traveling, fly fishing with Max and Emma, exploring new recipes with Nancy, farming their garden, or blending artisan gins for his famous martinis.